Another week and another chance to interview a good friend. i have been lucky enough to know Ayman for over 10 years and now he is working hard and helping people in the world. Ayman has teamed up with Shay Allie as they seek to inspire people. Their premis﻿﻿e is "If you had 10 minutes to share your wisdom on stage, what would you say?"
Inspire'd is the UK's premier stage for leadership talks in 10 minutes. Once a month, they invite speakers to share personal stories that we believe will connect either mentally, emotionally or spiritually. ﻿﻿

Time for the Questions with Ayman.

Ayman Najafi

﻿Who is inspired?Inspire'd is a London based event that hits the sweet spot between drama and comedy. It's like going to the theatre and comedy club at once. Every month we invite 5 speakers to share their last ever 10 minute talk with the world. What they say creates laughter, realisations and sometimes, tears. Think of watching the most impactful talks you've seen on YouTube, live in person, at a beautiful venue in Mayfair with 60-80 of the nicest, most down to earth, accomplished people. That is Inspire'd.What is your inspiration for doing this?My biggest inspiration is something close to home - my personal results. I'm a living, breathing example of what investing in yourself can do to your health, relationships, career, finances, lifestyle and personal legend. Taking ownership of all areas of your life, the good, the bad and the downright ugly, sounds sexy and it is, but it also takes dedication, intellectual and emotional investment and deep commitment. I've been on both sides and know that without an inward focus we can drift, follow other people and lose our sense of destiny. I wanted to create a concept and a community where investing in yourself is more fun and real than watching TV, going to the pub or staying in the office. ﻿

The inspiring duo- Shay Allie and Ayman Najafi

When do you get the most satisfaction from doing this?On the night of the event. We run on the 1st Monday of every month and I host the evening along with the one and only Shay Allie. Together we have a lot of fun with our team, guests and speakers. The satisfaction is in feeling the energy in the room being transformed as each speaker takes the stage, where at the end everyone is so in love with themselves, each other and life in general, its beautiful. I also get alot of satisfaction from the feedback we receive which is overwhelmingly positive. My passion is to serve people and it's an honour to be in service in this way. Where would you like to see inspire'd in five years time?Whilst it's tempting to franchise the model to other cities, its not easy to recreate the energy for various and obvious reasons. Saying that, we do believe every major city would enjoy and greatly benefit from having Inspire'd, therefore we will soon be open-sourcing the format on our website so others can lead their own event with our blessing.

Ultimately, we see Inspire'd as a unique experience, best tasted in London, that people visit when they are here, whether that's because they feel its the best way to start their month or because they've heard about it from a friend or publication. Sort of like Harrods or Selfridges but less expensive and more valuable! Why should someone get a life coach and how can people help themselves?I've had coaches in my life and have also gone through a period without a coach, such as now. In my observations, I would say that it's still not as common to think about hiring a coach here in the UK as it is in other countries. The reasons are many, one of them is cultural, another is seeing it as a cost rather than investment, another is it may seem "unnatural". The truth is our life is made up of three components: What we know, What we know we don't know and What we don't know that we don't know. And actually the first two are the smallest. A coach will help you with your blind spots: What you don't know, you don't know. If you are still following me, you may not need a life coach! I just want to point out that I am not a life coach and Inspire'd is not affiliated to any life coaches but its true that there are clear benefits of training and investing in yourself and nothing is more personalized than one-to-one coaching.And finally...
Which piece of advice has been the most important to you?Anything I say now is going to sound simplistic without the back story but here goes!If you have a dream, desire, goal, vision in your mind or in your heart, it has been planted there for a reason. The Universe, God, Holy Spirit, Devine Order, All That Is, whatever you want to call it, has given you the tools and life experiences you need to continue to follow and pursue those dreams, desires, goals, visions. Life is about REALising whats deep inside you. You are the only person that can do that, thats the journey you are on. If you cannot see, feel, touch, taste your deepest desires at the moment think about making some significant lifestyle changes so that your vision becomes clearer. Do that NOW and don't wait. What else do you have to do that's so important?

Thank you so much Ayman. It has been a pleasure as always. I have had a chance to go to an Inspire'd event and you can feel the energy in the room and you definitely will take some golden nuggets from it.Life is what you make it and make sure you are enjoying it.